"I don't have much impression of how this Prince Zhou Ren usually behaves!" I asked curiously as I held my glass, and although it was full, I was in no hurry to drink it.

"Excellent, quite good!" Ji Xiu, who was sitting at the table and drinking with me, put down his chopsticks and sold them to me with his fingers. "To say that His Royal Highness Prince Zhou Ren is the most outstanding among the many highnesses of the former Prince Seihito, he has been smart and clever since he was a child, and he is deeply loved by the Emperor and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Whether it is poetry and poetry or a subset of scriptures and history, as long as you say it, it is unforgettable and comprehensible......"

"Don't talk about those useless things, you know I didn't want to hear this!" I waved my hand impatiently at him for deliberately pretending to be crazy and stupid, but I wasn't really angry. "I mean how he got to this position, was it appointed by His Highness Chengren?"

The Prince Seihito I am talking about is the former crown prince, but he is dead, and it was not long after the start of my crusade. Although he failed to ascend the throne after serving as a crown prince for more than 20 years, he did leave a lot of heirs. Although the Zhou Rengong I saw yesterday is not yet an adult, it seems that he has already been designated as the successor to the throne, otherwise there is no need to do this trick in every way.

The crown prince had just died, and I did not expect that the various factions in the royal family and the court would reach a compromise so quickly. Since we made such a request in the introduction yesterday, we can see that we have made a lot of preparations in advance.

"The prince left in a very hurry, and he didn't have time to make such an arrangement!" Although Ji Xiu, who mentioned this topic, did not look too sad, his face involuntarily became solemn. "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has not been in good health, and the last few riots have affected Kyoto. said something disrespectful, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not only very thoughtful, but also does not have much courage. Especially...... The death of His Excellency the Temple of Persuasion touched him quite a lot, and in the end he still could not survive it. I wasn't there when he died, but I've heard that he had some epiphany when he died! ”

There is some resentment in the words of Ji Xiu in the town of Zhengqin, which I can hear, in his thoughts, it can't be said that I can't see it, but in my own way, I can't help it. If I could take a step back and think about everything, I'm afraid I wouldn't be alive now!

"Although Prince Seihito did not leave a last word, after all, this is a matter of succession to the throne, and it is mainly a decision made by His Majesty the Emperor with reference to your important ministers!" Seeing that I didn't have a stubble, Ji Xiu was not good at studying the question just now, so he could only continue to say: "What I said just now is not wrong, Prince Zhou Ren is indeed outstanding among your highnesses. As long as there are blind people in the court, they will not deny this, so it can only be said that there is no resistance after proposing this candidate! ”

"So who was the first person to propose this candidate?" I asked.

It's not like I'm pretending, I really didn't have a special idea about it before, or I didn't think about it at all. Prince Chengren is just in his early forties, who would have thought that he would die so soon, isn't he still alive and well in his sixties? I also know that when I was in Kanto, I consulted some people in the imperial court on the issue of candidates, but it is certain that no decision was reached.

"This man...... That's me! Although Jixiu hesitated for a moment, he didn't hide it in the end.

"You?" I was a little surprised.

"I don't know if anyone else has said the same, but at least that's how I answered when His Majesty asked me!" Now that the words have been spoken, he simply let them go. "Prince Zhou Ren has grown up since he was a child, and he is gentle and elegant, and he has the most royal style among all the princes. When His Majesty the Emperor asked me, I said that he was the most suitable successor to the throne. Also present at the time were His Excellency Nijo and His Highness Yamashina, and they all heard what I said. Your Majesty has never made a clear statement, and I didn't know about it until yesterday when it was publicly raised! ”

"Did you talk about me?" I don't feel very good in my heart, but I can't say that I must have some prejudice against this Prince Zhou Ren, because we have not been in contact at all before.

"I didn't take the initiative to bring it up, they may have deliberately avoided the issue!" Ji Xiu was putting a pickled small yellow croaker in his mouth because he shook his head and some sauce got on his cheeks. "But no one knows about my relationship with you, and since I say so, they might think that's what you mean!"

I pondered for a moment, and it didn't seem to matter, since the Civil War triggered by Emperor Go-Daigo, the emperor had hardly expressed his opinion again. The royal family must be maintained, so even if it has its own "meaning", it must be expressed through the ministers, then this seems to be a good thing. I have also just subdued the daimyo of the world, and the crown ceremony of presiding over the heir to the throne can greatly increase his prestige.

"What does the crown ceremony mean, and is the ceremony cumbersome?" That's when I remembered this crucial question, but don't make any jokes then.

"It's similar to the samurai's salute of shaving their hair and armor, it's a rite of passage!" Ji Xiu, who is in the town, said smoothly: "Trouble is trouble, but there are not many things that need you to do, just take the hat and put it on him, and say a few more words!" ”

"How come I've never heard of this before, is there anything special?" I'm a little strange about this, and if it's supposed to be a rare rite of passage, then why don't I?

"This matter has never had anything to do with the martial arts, and it's normal for you not to know it!" At this time, Ji Xiu's interest gradually increased, and his red face showed that the wine had gradually improved. "All the children of the royal family must have such a ceremony when they become adults, and the presiding officer will generally be a minister with status, if it is a prince who is likely to inherit the throne, then this host will definitely be from a five-regent family. This is actually to find a protector for the prince among the ministers, and the identity is between the prince's teacher and father-in-law, which can be said to be a very status and face-saving thing! ”

"Never served as a samurai?" I was even more surprised.

"Since the beginning of the world!" Ji Xiu of Masaki Town held a chopstick in his hand, and he stood it in front of him little by little, as if he was swearing. "Since the Heigen period, all the way to the Ryokura and Muromachi shogunates, although there are also many people in high positions, the samurai and the ministers have always been incompatible!"

"This idea is really creative, did Nijo Harura come up with it?" After thinking about it, I have to admire the person who came up with this idea, and he really has to have a bit of a spirit of reform and innovation. "To be honest, among all the ministers, he is the one I value the most when it comes to brain insight. I think among these people in the current court, he should be the one who can come up with such an idea! ”

"Wrong, very wrong!" Masaki shook his head like a rattle.

"How so?" I asked rhetorically, unconvinced.

"The reason is simple, he didn't know about it beforehand!" He proudly explained to me, "I don't deny the talent and insight of His Excellency Nijo, and it is entirely possible that he could have come up with this plan, but I am afraid that he, like me, also learned about this arrangement yesterday. Otherwise, with his cautious character, even if he doesn't go to you in person, he will hint at me in and out of words. Prince Seihito has more than one son, but also several brothers, and it is impossible to achieve absolute unity of opinion on this matter. The reason why it is suddenly brought up in such a state of secrecy is that you want to use your external force to suppress dissenting opinions and create a fait accompli! ”

"To be honest, I don't really want to interfere in this matter, because most of them are thankless!" I took the cup in front of me and drank it down, feeling a rush of heat start to rush over my head. "Especially at a time like now, meddling in the abolition of the throne is very likely to cause truth to the opposition, I don't want to leave Xinqing with a situation of the Northern and Southern Dynasties!"

"I know that!" He nodded and had a drink with me.

"That'...... It can't be your suggestion, is it? I asked again.

"I think you've drunk too much! Didn't I tell you that I only heard about it yesterday? Ji Xiu laughed.

"Who could that be?" There was some truth to what he said, and I pondered over the cup in front of me that was once again poured. Apart from these two people who know me well and are smart, I really can't think of anyone else in the court!

"If my guess is correct, then it is very likely that it is Prince Zhou Ren himself who made this suggestion!" He seemed to say it with confidence.

"Oh......" My mind was a little wooden, and I couldn't figure out what that meant for a moment.

"Ha, ha, ha, that's a great idea!" Masahimachi Jixiu said as he tapped his glass with chopsticks. "Although most people think of you as a samurai, no matter how you say it, you can be regarded as having the position of a high-ranking minister, even if you are not a descendant of Fujiwara or a branch of the imperial family. Now that you are a veritable leader of the samurai family, must the background of the samurai be so orthodox? ”

"What do you mean, I can hear the sarcasm!" My mood gradually entered a state of excitement as the wine became stronger, and I was not really surprised by this sentence that could be classified as a big disrespect. "I've never hidden my origins, so what's the big deal, what about those samurai who have been hairpins for generations, there are not many people who can't survive without being attacked. Take Takeda Shingen as an example, who is not impressed by Wenzhi and martial arts, but he is not dragged by the war. If you look at me again, the frequency of wars is more than that of the Takeda family, and the proportion of troops directly under the jurisdiction is even more incomparable to anyone. You may not know about this matter, this is a mistake of concept! Listen to me tell you carefully......"

That night, I drank a lot of alcohol at the Shokin-cho Jishu Mansion, and I talked a lot, but I can't remember what I said. Masaki Machicho Jixiu didn't drink any less than me, because of the personality factor, he naturally talked more, but I also can't remember what he said. As a result, he said his, I said mine, until neither of us knew when we lay down and fell asleep, but it must have been almost dawn.